Let It Go
by PavedWithBadIntentions
Summary: They say opposites attract, but clearly physicists have never met Eli and Becky before. Add a camp seemingly in the middle of nowhere and competitive positions of power into mix, and you've got twelve long weeks in which making it out unscathed is not a guarantee. Get ready for a summer of fun at Camp Ptloem!
1. Meet Becky

**Chapter 1**: Meet Becky

**Story Rating**: M

**Chapter Rating**: G

**Authors Notes**: Hey there- anyone who decides to read this. I've gotta say I'm pretty excited to release this story. I've got some awesome things in mind with it, so just bear with the first few introductory chapters, but I hope it fits the summer needs of whomever decides to read this. ALSO, this is alternate universe so please go off of what is set up in the first few chapters. Beckdam doesn't exist, so Becky isn't going to be a super tolerant person, and Eli has /just/ been diagnosed as bipolar. Eli is going into the summer before senior year and Becky, the summer before junior year. x

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Meet Becky Baker. Standing at five foot, seven inches since grade eight, the perky blonde had grown accustom to the standoffish behavior the opposite gender tended to take towards her. The small bit of insecurity she harbored towards her appearance stemming from her height, making her the slightest bit more human than she sometimes seemed.

Even so, Becky was far more confident than any sixteen year old girl had the right to be. While most of her fellow peers thought that by changing something about themselves physically, that it would change the way the world perceived them, Becky was almost certain that nothing physical about a person (except, maybe, the way they dressed) would ultimately change a single thing about the perceptions others gathered. Maybe it was that she spent her time worrying about things beyond boys and parties. Maybe it was that she was born without the ability to properly process adolescence in a normal fashion. Either way, it served to keep her in good standing with her parents at all times, while her brother struggled indefinitely to remain off of grounded status.

Everything about the girl screamed clean cut and pristine. From the hemline of her dresses, to the lack of plunge to any of her blouses; Becky lived by the motto of "_modest being hottest_", feeling that the sort of attention low cut shirts attracted was not that of God's, and therefore not what she desired. In fact, Becky was that girl every other girl wished would get laid or to simply fall of the face of the earth—whichever happened first—to assist in becoming less judgmental towards the actions of others.

Going to an all girls' Catholic private school served for a total focus on the educational aspect of her school life-the other part being her impressive list of extra circulars. Already focused on how her college application would look in the eyes of top universities, Becky sought to make every action of her life geared towards the future. A future she intended to go perfectly according to plan. As devout as Becky Baker claimed to be, she was a selective Christian in the way that she ignored that anyone had a better plan for her life. Not even God could possibly laugh in the face of her astute plans.

Moving to Canada was one of the last things Becky had in her mind in the realm of long term plans. As far as she was concerned, her parents were putting the needs of her brother's so far above her own that they threatened to throw off her possibility of getting into any university that her heart desired. She was going to be the low man on the totem pole when it came to clubs and organizations now, with only her word to stand testament to how good of a leader she was. In staying true to her over dramatic adolescent nature, she dubbed moving to Canada as "the end of the world" with no compromises to calm her tantrums—ones that didn't subside until a week after being settled in Toronto. In fact, Becky made it so that her parents had no other option but to home school the blonde for the rest of her sophomore year seeing as she refused to attend the public community school that her brother attended.

All judgmental and uptight behavior aside, Rebecca Baker was nothing but a joy to be around as so much as you let her be. Sure, if you had a predisposition towards the macabre and other dreary aspects of the world—she simply wasn't going to be anything you contented yourself with. The other group of people that took an automatic disliking towards Becky was anyone with a pragmatic grounding. Becky's imagination often got the best of her, causing her actions to reflect on the whimsical and impulsive thoughts that happened to inspire her in the moment. The only thing that made it seem like impulsive recklessness was actually creativity was her complete conviction and determination towards any and everything she did.

With a lesser upbringing in her faith, surely Becky would have taken on something more traditionally foolish than being a devout Christian. In her youth group, she was considered inspirational—a true leader with a faith in God so strong not even the strongest nonbeliever could shake. If anyone had the determination to convert the masses to the way of the Lord, they were sure it was her. Perhaps they never realized how clearly her participation within her Church revolved on the attention it brought her. It wasn't that she even consciously realized this, but the fact of the matter was that it was true—being religious was Becky's niche. The reason her parents doted on her despite her fits, what gave her the façade of the perfect daughter. It wasn't just that people perceived her as being religious, it seemed as if her Christian identity that was one born into her very DNA and to view her as something else would be severing a crucial element of herself.

Becky Baker: every parents' dream and every cynic's worst nightmare. Her history aside, the true story does not lie within her past, but rather her summer plans. Soon realizing her desire to be homeschooled the last few months had taken away precious time in terms of leadership positions, she immediately began searching for summer opportunities that would fill the void that currently existed. Becky wasn't looking for a position that would be financially lucrative; in fact, she couldn't give less of a care of actually having a summer job. She needed to find something that would show flexibility. That would show her creativity and most importantly: how competent her leadership skills really were.

Camp Ptloem wasn't her first choice. Nor was it her second or third on account of how impossibly difficult it was for her to both pronounce and spell. It was, however, the only camp that wasn't already fully staffed. Her first choices involved the equivalent of a twelve week Bible Camp, and second rested in a Gifted Campers program that seemed just as promising. Camp Ptloem didn't seem much of anything besides typical and conventionally boring. With a brochure not updated since the late 90s, it held the charm of a plastic covered sofa.

Becky shouldn't have held the shock that she did when she came to learn that all the other camps had already staffed their counselors. If anything, her go-to phrase of the _early bird catching the worm _should have made it more than evident that she deserved to go metaphorically hungry considering her search started a mere three weeks before summer was about to start. Even Camp Ptloem had been fully staffed a few weeks prior and only had one opening due to a previous employee opting out of position for a better opportunity of summer employment. They warned her that it meant she had little choice in where she would be dorming and that she would have to prove herself on multiple levels in order to compensate for her less than timely sign up date.

Despite the negative opinions she held towards the less than impressive camp, this wasn't something she planned to take lightly. This was going to be a shining example for her future resume and she was going to make the most out of the twelve weeks that she had ahead of her.

As she stared at her packed luggage at the foot of her bed, she took a deep breath, steadying her thoughts from becoming too farfetched. Even though Becky often acted as if she was above most adolescent concerns, the idea of spending twelve weeks away from home in the middle of nowhere with little actual supervision created a variety of worries, but also things that caused her stomach to do flips in excitement. She wondered if she'd make any friends with her fellow counselors, if she'd hate them all, or if she'd find some cute boys to flirt with to help pass the time (nothing more, of course). These were the types of concerns she'd never voice aloud. Concerns she felt would ruin the persona she had so carefully crafted. There was definitely more to Becky Baker than what met the eye, but it was something she planned to keep carefully stowed away with her perfectly packed bags for the rest of the summer.

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Next chapter is already written so it's a matter of me completing chapter three before I post two. Review? haha.


	2. Meet Eli

**Chapter 2**: Meet Eli

**Story Rating**: M

**Chapter Rating**: G

**Authors Notes**: Chapter two! Get excited! I am! Can you feel it? PS make sure to pay attention to the background changes Eli has in the chapter, they'll be crucial to remember for later, because he's not quite canon to season 12.

Meet Eli Goldsworthy. Standing at five foot, eight point five inches, his height made the minimum height to meet the average men's height in Canada. Now if it was America, Mr. Goldsworthy would have been SOL in even being considered to be average. It wasn't as if he was average in any facet of his personality, so it was deservedly fitting that his physicality was just hardly acceptable to the norms his own society condoned.

Although all teenagers seemed innately programmed with a strong sense of defiance—especially towards authority—Eli had a special brand of defiance that made him seem a generation removed. Back to a time when wearing all black did not dub you as being emo or goth, but rather an anarchist. Not that he was about to gain a following to overthrow the government, (not that there was many people that would blindly follow him for such an endeavor) but whenever presented with the opportunity to do the right thing and the thing that seemed most fun, he would also choose the latter so long as it fostered a good sense of rebellion.

He wasn't always the poster child of week-long detentions, but once he had transferred to Degrassi his junior year, it seemed as if it was his signature calling card. He never started a fight for trivial reason, but he'd never hesitate to declare an all out war on whoever crossed his own path or those he cared about. Either way, he wasn't looking for approval from anyone and his actions reflected that clearly. His reputation was ironic in the sense that he didn't put any stock into perceptions from others and yet that became a defining factor for him in of itself.

To enter into a grudge was Eli was to enter a long term commitment. Much of the boy's typical day-to-day interactions were this way, and his anger was no exception. In fact, if it ever there was an abrupt truce on Eli's part, it was more likely than not that it meant he was scheming so carefully that it called for an element of surprise. He was smart and creative and the combination posed near deadly when it came to his concentration on making another person's life Hell if he determined that they legitimately deserved it.

When it came down to it, Eli wasn't so bad. Although he'd never let that impression ruminate with anyone else he encountered, the fact was that he truly did have a heart of gold. Even if he did take years to unearth. There was very little that was disingenuine with him. Even his sarcasm was true to his nature, and if he meant no harm by it, it was fairly clear.

The last year had been rough. From Clare to Imogen, Eli now knew it was unwise to create a focus on any individual person, especially when it came to romantic interests. There was still a part of him that would never forgive himself from the ways he hurt both of them, yet at the same time, he knew that the apologies he had given to both parties as a part of his steps to righting the wrongs he had committed during his undiagnosed phase didn't mean that he had any reason to try to restart a relationship with either of them considering both had done their fair share of pushing him to his ends.

Not that Eli was swearing of relationships for the rest of his life, it was just that therapy pointed out his faults in rushing when he saw the green light from a person of interest. He wished it was easy as it had been with Julia. Regardless of the fact that sophomore year seemed less burdened by approaching adulthood, everything seemed to fall into place and the worst they endured while together was a few simple fights that led to no repercussions. It figures that a simple relationship would end in a complicated fashion that would shape the rest of his life whether he wanted it to or not.

Eli had spent the last three months searching for a summer job, and as April reached a close he decided it was time to throw in the towel. I mean, who wouldn't want to just sit around playing videos games and writing for the duration of the summer? But at the advice of his parents and therapist alike, a summer full of obligations and responsibility was exactly what he needed.

Mid April Cece pounced into his room with the excitement of a young child with news that would change the course of his summer plans for good. She had pulled a few strings for her baby boy to get him a paid job in being a camp counselor at Camp Ptloem. The pay wasn't extremely impressive, but it came with room and board and spending a good part of the summer out in nature was definitely on the list of therapist approved activities.

Eli, for one, was less than enthused. Spending the duration of his school free time in charge of a bunch of 10-12 year old children was not the definition of a fun summer. He was sure there wouldn't even be a WIFI connection from the looks of the pictures in the brochure that Cece has given him. He knew that change was supposed to be what he needed to embrace, but as far as he was concerned, there was just so much more comfort in dealing with the surrounding he had grown accustom to. It had only been a few months since he had outgrown his habit of hoarding and the idea that he was about to shift scenery in a mere month tempted him to retreat away from the progress he had made so far.

In general, the idea of being fed food he didn't choose, bunking with people he didn't know, and spending and upwards of twelve weeks without the basic commodities he had grown accustomed to seemed like a death sentence. Well perhaps that was a bit much, but Eli definitely considered it to be near torture. How was he supposed to enjoy himself when he was going to constantly be worrying about being eaten alive by bugs and frying out in the sun? Most people probably didn't look at the great outdoors and think about the literal pain it could case, but Eli definitely did.

Wearing all black was going to out of the question as well, considering most of the days he would have assigned counselor shirts to have a part of his required attire. This summer was going to disrupt near everything about Eli's comfort zone he could imagine. To him, the phrase of life existing outside of your comfort zone was a total fallacy, and whoever coined that phrase was off their rocker and didn't deserve to be paid attention to.

There was very little Eli was actually looking forward to working at Camp Ptloem. Not even the pay seemed sufficient for the time it was going to take from him. He supposed it could have been worse. It could have been a Bible Camp with everyone running around singing the praise of Jesus and simultaneously causing him to break out with hives. Nothing could be worse than dealing with that. And that was the way he was going to approach the summer. It wasn't going to be something he looked back on with any amount of fondness. But he could tolerate it.

He reclined in the leather sofa chair in the living room, his feet on the glass coffee table as he watched the movie on the screen. Cabin in the Woods seemed an appropriate film as any to watch before having to go off into the middle of nowhere. If he was lucky there would be a similar process of elimination and conspiracy theory to go along with it. At the very least, it would be a pleasant thought to amuse him with when things got boring—which they were bound to—in the middle of arts and crafts time. He had to leave within in the hour for his new summer home, but in all honest he couldn't find it in himself to expedite the headache that was bound to be the entire time spent at the rickety old camp. Eli was sure this summer was going to breeze—so long as he could take it one day at a time.


End file.
